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Colin Miller found plenty of reasons to be positive
Thursday night, but the result was the same for Canada in its second
game at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Canada's rebuilding men's senior team saw its hopes of qualifying
for the Gold Cup playoff round fade in a 2-0 loss to Mexico.

"I actually thought we played very well in spells," said
Miller. "I thought we showed maturity in possession. We're still
not the finished article in the final third. That's for sure."

Miller praised his youth-laden squad for holding Mexico to goals
off a corner kick and a penalty kick, and rebounding from a
disappointing opening loss to tiny Martinique on a last-minute goal.

"To pick the group up and get them ready for the powerhouse that
Mexico are speaks volumes for the character and a well done for
everyone within our association for helping along," said Miller.

But Canada fell to 0-2 and, with only one round-robin game
remaining, will be hard-pressed to advance. Mexico evened its record
at 1-1 before a pro-Mexican crowd of 28,354 at CenturyLink Field.
The Mexicans have won the last two Gold Cups.

Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who faced seven shots while
Canada was credited with three, also praised his club, but was more
blunt in his critique.

"They didn't have a lot of chances," said Borjan. "The last
game, [Martinique] had a lot more chances than Mexico today. We
played really good, we shaped good, awesome defending. But again, we
didn't score a goal and that's what's killing us the whole
tournament.

"We came out with our heads up high, and today we showed that we
can play with any team. But we just needed somebody to score."

Raul Jimenez, in the first half, and Marco Fabian, in the second,
scored for Mexico.

The Mexicans atoned for an upset loss to Panama in their first
game.

Despite Seattle's proximity to Canada, the Canadians were clearly
the visiting side. Mexico's supporters vastly outnumbered Canadians
in the crowd. Every section of the stadium was flush with fans in
green jerseys, with many sporting Mexican flags.

Most of Canada's fans occupied a small corner of the stadium.

Despite the joyous atmosphere, both teams entered the game in
difficult circumstances. With new coach Benito Floro waiting take
the helm after this tournament, Canada is attempting to rebuild its
struggling squad in wake of a humiliating 8-1 loss to Honduras in
World Cup qualifying last year.

Meanwhile, Mexican coach Jose Manuel (Chepo) de la Torre has come
under fire because of his team's opening loss to Panama and a 1-0-5
record in World Cup qualifying. Reports have speculated that he will
be fired unless Mexico wins its third consecutive Gold Cup.

Both Canada's and Mexico's tasks became more difficult when
Panama beat Martinique earlier Thursday. The win gave Panama a
perfect 2-0 mark and assured it will advance to the knock-out stage
regardless of how it fares against Mexico in the final round-robin
game for both teams on Sunday in Denver.

Miller stuck with Borjan after he gave up a last-minute goal in
the loss to Martinique. But Miller was forced to shuffle other parts
of his lineup after midfielder Russell Teibert missed the game due
to an illness picked up earlier this week and captain Will Johnson
(illness) and striker Simeon Jackson (club commitment) left the club
along with reserve striker Randy Edwini-Bonsu (injury.)

"We obviously missed those players, the quality, but I thought
the players who filled in tonight stood up and were counted," said
Miller.

Canada spent much of the first half hoping for a quick counter
attack while often folding five or six players back to defend.
However, the Mexicans still found space, recording five shots on
goal and earning seven corner-kicks.

Canada mustered just two shots while forcing three corner-kicks
in the first 45 minutes.

Borjan was tested early as he two-fisted away a free kick from
Fabian from just outside the corner of the Canadian box. A little
while later, Canada had a chance, but Marcus Haber's close-range shot
from a sharp angle was stopped.

Haber had another scoring chance in the 29th minute as Mexican
goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco dove to stop his header off a Kyle Bekker
free kick.

Jimenez gave Mexico a 1-0 lead on a header in the 42nd minute as
Jorge Enriquez flicked a corner kick onto him. The corner kick came
after Borjan robbed Marquez from about 10 yards out after an errant
bounce off a Canadian defender.

It was Jimenez's first career goal at the senior international
level. He is new to the national squad this year.

Canada started the second half with a new striker as Tosaint
Ricketts replaced Haber, but the change had little impact. Miller
said Haber suffered a heel injury that needs to be assessed further.

Fabian was awarded his penalty-kick in the 57th minute as
Canadian defender David Edgar was whistled for tripping him slightly
in the box. Goalkeeper Borjan guessed the wrong way as Fabian rolled
in a shot to the opposite corner of the net.

The infraction came a day after Edgar spoke of the importance of
staying disciplined at the back. Later, Edgar was lucky only to get
a yellow card after he delivered a kick from behind to Jimenez's
mid-section after the ball had left the vicinity.

Now, Canada faces a must-win situation Sunday against Panama in
Denver. But a victory will still not assure the Canadians a playoff
berth. The top two teams in each of three pools advance along with
the two third-place clubs, regardless of pool, that have the best
records.

"We're going to go for a win and then see what happens," said
Borjan. "Nothing's over yet."